Bumper structure



Oct. 14, 1952 U C 2,613,976

BUMPER STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 20, 1945 Inventorzoj Afilmzw ULMHN E B5 gh ZKttorneg.

Patented Get. 14, 1952 STATES PTENT OFFICE 14. Claims. 1

This invention relates to a bumper structure for an automotive vehicle.

It is an object of this invention to provide simple and improved form ofautomobile bumper.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a bumper structure inwhich the terminal portions of the bumper are bent rearwardly andinwardly in a curve and preferably formed as a loop.

It is another object of the invention to provide a bumper structure asset forth in the preceding paragraph in which said loop is spaced fromthe outer side of the bumper and in which there is a plate or othermeans closingor covering the top of the loop and also preferably thespace between the loop and the bumper.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bumper structure withmembers or guards secured thereto and extending vertically at the outerside of the bumper, said members having other members secured-thereinand having portions extending outwardly away from the bumper at the endsof said members, said portions having terminal enlargements preferablyof substantially spherical form.

It is more specifically an object of the invention to provide a bumperwith one or more members secured thereto and extending vertically at theouter side thereof, said members being of tubular form and preferablytapering toward their ends together with other members received in theends of said tubular members and having portions extending substantiallyhorizontally outwardly away from the bumper, said portions beingprovided with substantially spherical enlargements at their outer ends.

It is still further an object of the invention to provide such astructure as set forth in the preceding paragraph in which one or moreof said other members may be held in different positions longitudinallyof said first mentioned members.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fullyset forth in the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tosimilar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a bumper embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial View similar to Fig. 1 of one end of the bumpershowing a modification;

Fig. 3 is a view in rear elevation of the bumper structure;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 4-6; of Fig. 3, as indicatedby the arrows;

2 Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 3, as indicatedby the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 66 of Fig. 5, as indicatedby the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on line 7-! of Fig. l, as indicatedby the arrows;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken on line 3-8 of Fig. 4, as indicatedby the arrows; and

Figs 9 is a vertical section takenioit line 9-4). of Fig. 1; asindicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings, a bumper I5 is shown such as now commonly"used on automobiles, and while this bumper could be varied in form, inthe embodiment of the invention illustrated it is'shown' as made from aflat bar having much greater width than thickness and being disposedsubstantially in a vertical plane. At

its end portions, member 15 is bent rearwardly.

or away from the body of said vehicle and inwardly, as shown in Fig. 1,and. in the embodiment: of the invention illustrated, said member isbent upon itself to. form a rearwardly' and in.- wardly directed loopportion 45a. Said loop portion is directed away from the body of saidvehicle. Member l5 thus has a portion I5b extending in the rear of itsmain portionand' in contact therewith. Said member 15 is secured to theframe of the vehicle by the headed and nutted bolts l6 which extendthrough the respective arms of a bracket ll extendingfrom the frame ofthe automotive vehicle. The loop [511 forms a loop-shaped space Hebetween the same and the adjacent part of the bumper. The upper portionof the loop [5a is preferably closed or I covered by a plate or similarmeans Hid extend-- ing across the top thereof which will be flush with.the top of member [5. Said portion 15d may also extend across the top'ofthe space i5c, as shown in Fig. 2. v l

Member [5 is also provided with andha s secured thereto members orguardslS and 20/ The member 20 is disposed substantially centrally ofthe member I5, while members l9 which are similar are disposed at equaldistances from member 20 and adjacent the ends of the bumper. Members l9comprise a tubular portion or body Isa which is preferably taperedtoward its ends. Said portion l 9a has cuts or slits I 9b formed thereinand extending transversely thereof at its rear side and a portion Ibetween said slits is. pressed inwardly some distance toward the longi-'tudinal center of member H9. The member i9 is placed against the outerside of bumper or'bar l5 and the bottom and top edges of said member atthe slits I9b engage respectively with the'top and bottom edges of thebar l5, as shown in Fig. 5. Portion I90 can thus be made to engage thefront surface of member i5 throughout the desired extent. Member I9 issecured to the bar I5 by a headed and nutted bolt 2 I, the samepreferably being equipped with a lock washer 22 under the nut thereon.Disposed at each end of portion I9a is another portion I912 and this hasits end extending into the end of portion I9a in telescoped relation.Portion IQd will be secured to portion I9a in any suitable manner as bywelding. Said portion I911 extends outwardly substantially horizontallyaway from bar I5 and away from the body of the vehicle or automobile atthe end of portion IBa for some distance and is equipped with a terminalenlargement ISe which is preferably of substantially spherical form. Oneinner side portion of the part I9e, which is the portion adjacentportion Illa, is somewhat flattened, as shown at I9 The member 2-) has atubular portion a which is similar in all respects to portion I9a exceptthat it projects a somewhat longer distance above the bar I5. Member200. has a portion 23d therein similar to portion l 9d alreadydescribed, and this Member 20 is also provided with spaced slits or cuts201), similar to the cuts I9b, and with an inwardly pressed or oifsetportion 200 similar to portion I 9c. A portion 20g is provided havingone end part 20h thereof received in the lower end of portion 20a, saidpart 2011 being provided with spaced holes 202'. Portion 29g extendshorizontally some distance at the bottom of portion 28a and is providedwith a terminal enlargement 20a similar to enlargement 20c. The part2071. may be somewhat flattened at its front and rear sides, as shown inFig. 7. Member 28 is secured to bar I5 by a headed and nutted bolt 24,which is preferably provided with a lock nut 25 under the nut thereon.It will be seen that bolt 24 passes through one of the holes 202'. InFig. 4 bolt 24 is shown as passing through the lower of holes 202' butit will be seen member 20g can be lowered so as to project further outof member 20a at the lower end of the latter, and bolt 24 can then passthrough the upper aperture 201'. The portions I9@ and 20a may beprovided with reflectors 2010, as shown in Fig. 4. These will comprisesegmental inserts, preferably of metal, set into the outer sides ofportions 20c symmetrical of a horizontal diameter thereof. Portions 20kwill preferably be provided with a plurality of small bodies orreflectors 20m, such as prisms or semi-spherical bodies of glass orsimilar material which may have a reflective coating on theirundersides. Portions 28m will preferably be of some distinctive color,such as red. This gives the reflective effect of quite a large number ofreflective dots or areas. Such a reflective effect is now commonly usedon stop signs for streets and highways.

The structure of bumper above described will have great utility inoperation. It happens more or less frequently that the right-hand end ofthe front bumper will become positioned in front of the left-hand end ofa rear bumper and thus be somewhat locked in position. Such incidentsusually occur when a driver is manipulating the car into a parking spaceor when he is leaving a parking space. On parking lots the cars areoften parked close together and the bumpers sometimes become engaged, asabove described. It is also more or less common for fenders to be bentor nicked in maneuvering the car in parking and in parking lots. Withthe structure of the present bumper at the ends, it will be seen that ifthe end of a front bumper would engage the rear of the loop I5a, thebumper would be prevented from moving past or getting in front of thebumper I5. The outer curved side of the loop would tend to deflect thebumper and cause the car to move in a line-where it would not only avoidlocking of the bumpers but in which it would also miss the fender of thecar having the bumper I5 thereon. It would thus be practicallyimpossible for the end of another bumper to be locked with or positionedin front of the end of the bumper I5. The projecting p I5a, whichextends away from the body of the vehicle or automobile, also forms aguard and protection for the main body of the bumper. There will be someresiliency to the bar I5 and loop I5a so that it can absorb quite ashock without damage. Thebumper I5 is illustrated as forming a rearbumper but it is also obvious that it could be used for a front bumperas well. As a front bumper it would act to avoid being locked withanother rear bumper. Even if the extreme outer end portion of the bumperwould get in front of a rear bumper it would only be necessary to backthe car and the curved surface of the outer loop I5a would enable thebumpers to readily separate. When acting as a front bumper, the loop I5awould form excellent protection and the curved surface thereof would notact to cut or seriously damage a fender with which it might come intocontact. The members I9 and 20 have a pleasing appearance and acteffectively as guards. It is a more or less frequent happening that whenone car parks behind another on the upper side thereof on a grade orhill that a part of the front bumper on the rear car will slide over therear bumper on the car ahead and drop back of the same. This usuallymakes a difficult job to get the cars separated. It will be seen thatwith the present construction there is a recess formed be tween theouter side of portions I 9a and 20a and the enlargements I96 and 206respectively. The horizontal part of portions I 3d and 20d would thusprevent the bumper on another car from sliding over the bumper bar I5.Likewise if the bumper were on the front, said horizontal portions wouldprevent bumper I5 from sliding over another bumper. The projecting upperand lower parts on members I9 and 20 protect the central part of saidmembers. The curved surfaces of the enlargements ISe and 20e as well asthe curved outer surfaces of the portions I9a and 20a have a deflectingeffect on any object that contacts the same. A portion of another carsuch as a fender or bumper guard would be deflected laterally so that itwould be brought against the bar I5 and reduce the strain on the membersI9 and 20. The spherical portions I9e and 20s also tend to do lessdamage if brought in contact with another car. The tendency of thebumper to cut or tear the metal of another car is greatly reduced by thespherical portions I9e and 206.

In most cases the portion 209 would be positioned with the bolt 24 inthe upper of the apertures 201' so that the central member 20 wouldextend further below bar I5 than the side members I9. However, if thedriver has to drive on a steep ramp or over places where the bottom ofthe enlargement 207' would be apt to strike the loop thus forming ahookhaving a concave surface at the inner side of its-bight portion.

12. The structure set forth in claim 11, and a plate overlying said loopand disposed in a substantially horizontal plane and having a'concaveedge extending from the end of said loop inwardly to said bar at a pointspaced inwardly from-the end portion of said loop.

13. A bumper structure for an automotive vehicle comprising a memberextending vertically and having a recess at one side adapted to fitagainst a bumper, said member having upper and lower portions bent toextend substantially horizontally in a direction away from the body ofsaid vehicle, said portions having enlarged substantially semi-sphericalends,-each of said semispherical portions at their adjacent sides havinga flat substantially vertical surface adjacent said bumper and spacedfrom the vertical portion of said member.

14. A bumper structure for a vehicle comprising horizontally extendingbar, a member secured to said bar and extending substantially at rightangles thereto to points above and below saidbar, said member havingupper and lower end portions extending substantially horizontally anddirected away from said bar in a 8 direction away from the body of saidvehicle, said ends having terminal portions thereon of substantiallyspherical form with semi-spherical surfaces directed away from said bar.

- ANDREW ULMANIEC.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,362,195 Sills Dec. 14, 19201,390,285 Gahn Sept. 13, 1921 1,442,493 Pearson Jan. 16, 1923 1,582,980Grotenhuis May 4, 1926 1,595,391 Fageol Aug. 10, 1926 1,703,700 YanssFeb.'26, 1929 1,798,278 Scott et al Mar. 31, 1931 1,905,590 Isgrig Apr.25, 1933 1,994,918 McMahon Mar. 19, 1935 2,162,100 McGregor June 13,1939 2,190,328 Hans Feb. 13, 1940 2,205,592 Hofimann June 25, 19402,244,353 Zaiger June 3, 1941 2,291,370 Brunner July 28, 1942 2,293,689De Pace Aug. 18, 1942

